VALLEY CENTER  UPDATE: On Friday the Controller's Office said the proper paperwork has now been received from the Parks and Recreation District.

Two small districts in Valley Center hold the distinction of being the only government agencies in San Diego County called out by the State Controller this week for failing to file some financial and accounting reports required under the law.

Letters were sent Wednesday to the Valley Center Cemetery District and the Valley Center Community Services District (also known as the Valley Center Parks and Recreation District) notifying them of the violation. State officials said certified letters were also sent to the districts several months ago, telling them they were at risk of being out of compliance.

Officials with both districts said this week they never received either letter, and that all of their paperwork is up to date.

Penalties for not filing the documents by Dec. 31 include a $5,000 fine and the possibility of the districts having to pay for an outside audit. Statewide, 126 local governments, including nine cities and 117 special districts, received letters this week.

The Valley Center Cemetery District oversees the operation of the Valley Center Cemetery which has been in existence since 1883. The Valley Center Parks and Recreation District oversees several parks, athletic fields, a community hall and a swimming pool in that rural North County community.

Jacob Roper, a spokesman for the Controller’s office, said both districts failed to file paperwork for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Donna Weldon, the paid secretary/bookkeeper for the cemetery district, said she has never received notification of anything being wrong. “I don’t know what they’re talking about,” she said. “I send that stuff in every year.”

Weldon said she will be contacting the controller’s office to find out what’s going on.

Doug Johnsen, the general manager of the park district, said the same thing.

“I have no idea what that’s about,” he said. “We pay all our bills and file all our paperwork. I’ve never gotten any notification from the county or the state.” He too said he will be doing some research.

Roper said compliance to the reporting requirements is always high because of the penalties that can accompany nondisclosure.

“They really need to get them in,” he said. “These are well understood requirements that have been around for many years.” He said there are more than 3,000 special districts in the state and only 117 are delinquent.

“Transparency in financial reporting — including public salaries — is necessary to protect communities against the misuse of taxpayer dollars and other abuses of public trust,” said Controller John Chiang in a news release.

Under the law, local governments are required to file a report of financial transactions — which include figures on revenues, expenditures, and long-term debt — within 90-110 days of the end of the fiscal year.

Each report noted in the controller’s letter is more than a year overdue, during which time the agencies ignored a penalty-free grace period, as well as written notification warning that assessment of monetary penalties is forthcoming, Chiang said.